The South African state's faltering legal pursuit of televangelist Timothy Omotoso has suffered another major setback, with a High Court judge citing fundamental failures in the prosecution's courtroom conduct as the reason for upholding his acquittal. Judge Irma Schoeman of the Gqeberha High Court dismissed the state's application for leave to appeal on Friday, December 12, delivering a sharp rebuke to prosecutors. Omotoso and his two co-accused remain free after being found not guilty on all charges of human trafficking, rape, and racketeering in April 2025. The Court's Ruling: A "Fatal" Prosecutorial Error In her ruling, Judge Schoeman identified a core failure that doomed the state's case. She stated that during the trial, prosecutors did not properly cross-examine the accused, leaving their version of events effectively unchallenged. "Because the accused were not challenged on their version of events, the court was forced ...
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